1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet head cleaning means for the cleaning of the nozzle surface of an ink jet head, and particularly to an ink jet head cleaning means for the cleaning of the nozzle surface of an ink jet head which removes foreign particles lying around ink jet print head nozzles provided in a nozzle plate, for delivering ink droplets through the nozzles, and an ink jet recording apparatus having the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
There has heretofore been known an ink jet recording apparatus which selectively delivers ink droplets to a recording medium through a plurality of nozzles arranged in a nozzle plate to thereby perform printing.
In the ink jet recording apparatus, ink is apt to remain around the nozzles. When such remaining ink is dried/cured in the neighborhood of the nozzles or foreign particles contained in the air are mixed therein, this could lead to turning of the direction of ink delivery, clogging of the nozzles, etc. upon subsequent printing. Thus it becomes apt to produce a failure in ink delivery and a failure in print.
Such failures in ink delivery and print are apt to occur even when foreign particles contained in the ink stay around the nozzles.
Therefore, there have heretofore been proposed various ink jet recording apparatuses which remove ink remaining around nozzles.
There is known, for example, a technology wherein ink is delivered and foreign particles remaining around nozzles are extruded outside an ink jet head, and thereafter the ink lying around the nozzles is recovered by means of suction or the like to thereby remove the foreign particles around the nozzles.
The is also known, for example, a technology wherein a wipe member formed of an elastic body or the like is pressed against a nozzle plate and slid along the nozzle plate in this condition to thereby sweep foreign particles adhered to the nozzle plate.
However, in order to remove the foreign particles staying around the nozzles by using the technology wherein the foreign particles remaining around the nozzles are extruded outside the ink jet head and thereafter the ink remaining around the nozzles is recovered or collected by suction or the like, a large amount of ink must be used with a view toward extruding the foreign particles outside the ink jet head, so that the ink discarded without being used in printing remain in large quantities.
In order to remove foreign particles each having such a size as to cover each nozzle by using such a technology, large pressure must be applied to such nozzles. Thus a burden on the ink jet head increases starting with the periphery of each nozzle and power consumption is also much taken.
Further, when a main ink droplet (ink shot to a medium or the like) is separated from ink upon delivery of the ink, a vapor-liquid interface (ink face or level) is brought or drawn inside each nozzle. There may be a case in which when the vapor-liquid interface is drawn thereinside, foreign particles lying in the neighborhood of the nozzles or floating in the air are drawn inside the nozzles.
In the technology wherein the wipe member formed of the elastic body or the like is pressed against the nozzle plate and slid along the nozzle plate in this condition to thereby sweep the foreign particles adhered to the nozzle plate, the friction occurs between the elastic body and the nozzle plate due to the pressing of the elastic body against the nozzle plate and hence the nozzle plate might be damaged due to the friction. Although a water-repellent ink layer for repelling ink is generally provided on the surface of a nozzle plate against which an elastic body is abutted, the performance of delivery of the ink is degraded when the water-repellent ink layer is damaged due to the friction produced between the elastic body and the nozzle plate, thus leading to a failure in print.